The Unknown Quarian Assassin
by Wolfie393
Summary: A prompt from one of my readers. OC/OC pairing. A quarian assassin is contracted to help defend a turian colony. Short story still in development.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a prompt that I received from a reader, ManLion. I know I am terrible, terrible, and really terrible for only just now posting it. I really wanted to do this story justice, not just whip together a half-assed 5k word story. It will still be a short story but will have a few chapters and will be more than 5k words. If you are keeping up with my other story, you'll know that things are a little crazy for me right now but I will try not to let months go by between posts. I won't post the entire prompt here (it is a little involved!) but it is OC/OC quarians, Jaer'Coh vas Rayna and Lana'Coh vas Rayna. I don't want to spoil too much so let's just see how this goes. If more information is requested about the prompt I can post it. These events take place around the beginning of ME2._

_-So, I just realized that I posted the older version before editing... *facepalm*. I can't find the most recent one and I don't have the time to fix anything right now because I have to go to sleep for work tomorrow. If you do find something, I'm sorry, but if it is bothering you that much, you can send me a PM and I will fix it as soon as I can. Right now the earliest that I can read over all of this is after work tomorrow. Sorry again!_

**Chapter 1**

There were only two sounds filling the small cabin, the hum of the engine and the quiet grinding of metal being sharpened. The quarian was alone on his personal ship, it was the way he preferred it. Working alone in the field had its benefits though it did get a little lonely in the field, but it kept his family safe, at that is what mattered.

He made one last movement on the blade before holding it up to the light and inspecting the edge. It glistened in the dim light, the edge perfect. Tossing it up in the air, he caught the handle and flipped the blade in his hand, double checking the weight. Still perfect. Just as he picked up the next weapon that needed his attention, he heard the beeping of a message coming through. Setting the weapon aside he turned and smiled at the message coming through the console. Opening it, he answered, "Hello, dear."

"Jaer," the female quarian on the other end said in an almost scolding manner, "why don't you have your helmet on? Just because you are a special quarian who is immune doesn't mean you shouldn't take precautions."

He smiled at her and grabbed his helmet, turning it over in his hands, "I know, Lana. But you don't have to worry. I don't flaunt it."

"I know, Jaer. Anyway, I have a new assignment for you. There is a lot of civil unrest on Taetrus, a turian colony. It seems that –" she was cut off before she could give him all of the information.

"How is the little one doing?" he could tell that she was giving him a very scolding look under her mask.

"If only you could see my face right now, bond-mate," she shook her head but there was a little laughter behind her words. "Jaer'Coh Jr. is doing just fine. But he does miss his father."

He heard her tone change, "I know, dear. I wish I hadn't been sent out so soon."

"Well, once you get this job finished, you can come home to the Rayya." She could see the regret on his face that he was not able to be there for his family. Lana didn't blame him, she would never dream of it; it was men like him who made the galaxy a little more bearable.

"I'm sorry, go ahead. Tell me about the job."

"It seems that there is a batarian warlord terrorizing the planet. His motives are unclear at the moment but we assume it is revenge. He does have a surprisingly large army and the turian militia currently on the planet is not equipped to handle this sort of attack."

"Where are the turians? Why haven't they deployed troops to protect the colony?"

"All communications have been intercepted. The only way we were able to find out about the attack was because of young quarian on his pilgrimage had managed to earn enough credit to his name and work with the turians on their defense systems; specifically, their early detection systems. He had brought the batarian ship to their attention but they brushed it off. He managed to get a message out to us, someone who he thought would listen, before he was reprimanded by those in charge on the planet."

"Huh, how does the turian militia feel about his work now?"

"It certainly does carry a little more weight. But it won't do any good if the batarians succeed in killing off the planet. I already sent the coordinates to you."

"Coordinates received. Plotting route. Going dark in one hour. Give our son my love."

"Of course. Be safe."

"Always do," he smiled as he fastened his helmet.

Jaer turned on the cloaking for his shipping as he came closer to the planet. Although there wasn't much information, he had been through enough situations to know how to deal with the unexpected. The planet came into view and with it the batarian's flagship. Several smaller fighter ships circled the large cruiser. _Well… this should be interesting. His operation is a lot bigger than I thought. But I guess it would have to be to challenge a turian colony._

He began a slow approach to the planet, careful not to run his engines too strong to prevent any detection. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the fighters on a direct path with his ship. Cloaking a ship was a delicate science and he knew that if he moved too fast, it could flicker and give away his location. Easing into the controls he angled his ship down, holding his breath as the other ship closed in. Jaer's eyes stayed on the fighter as it came closer and closer, then he had to lift his head as he started to fly over his ship, missing it by what looked like mere inches. Letting out the breath, he focused his attention back onto the planet. He would have to deactivate the cloaking before he entered the atmosphere.

In the time that he waited, he studied the ship in the distance. It was an older cruiser, but still impressive for a warlord to have. Whoever it was, he had to be someone who had been in the game for quite a while. One who had a large force of loyal followers, which was saying something for batarians, and someone who was able to lay low between missions long enough to keep the heat off of himself. But how would someone like that be able to fund that kind of operation? Short of pulling off countless smaller jobs, the amount of larger heists would draw too much attention and no one is that good or lucky to get away with all of that. _Unless… he had a large enough force to do all the heavy lifting. But how would anyone be able to keep that many people loyal in this galaxy?_

Turning his attention back to the planet, Jaer put his hands over the throttle and the keys to deactivate the cloaking. He took in a deep breath. Exhaled. "Now or never," he whispered. Bringing down the ship's cloak, he punched the throttle. Almost immediately, his defense alarms went off and his ship shook with hits from a fighter. Jaer was already beginning to enter the atmosphere so he knew that he couldn't turn and fight, but at least the other ship couldn't target him during the descent.

A small part of him hoped they wouldn't follow, but he knew that he wouldn't be that lucky, he never was. Checking the radar, he saw that he had gathered a few more fans, four to be exact. His ship was almost out of the atmosphere, he would have to think quickly. Those ships were built for speed not firepower, but four could still do some damage if he wasn't careful. In the last few moments before all hell broke loose, he quickly redirected some of his power to the shields to help prepare. Not a second had passed after finishing boosting his shields when the first two hits tested his work, the movement rocking Jaer forward.

"Alright, let's test out your men," Jaer said to himself as he hit the thrusters into high gear and headed down to the planet. His sensors notified him to the enemies already closing in. Forcing the ship into a sharp turn, he managed to turn in time to lock onto two of his targets. He laid on the heavy fire as he continued to turn into them. Bullets rained themselves into his enemies, whittling away at the shields and finally breaking through the hull of one fighter. The ship on his left began to take a nose dive towards the ground below and the one on the right tried to bank to the side, hoping to escape its demise but the damage had been done; smoke began to flow heavily from the side and a few more seconds under the hail of bullets forced the ship into a fireball.

Jaer turned his weapons to the next targets but one had already evaded his field of vision, but he did manage to get enough damage to the last one to take out the shields and damage the belly. Both had flown out of view and were circling back by the time Jaer could start turning his ship to them again. He pushed the throttle forward and headed straight for them. One came back into view and began firing on him which he handed it right back. The percentage was going down on his shields but it wasn't much to worry about, until the second one made itself known. A rocket slammed into the side of his ship making his shield drop drastically and throwing him to the side slightly.

"Bosh'tet!" Jaer dipped down to drop below the fighter before him. _And now they are both behind me again…_ He burned the engines high trying to get some distance between him and the fighters. The sounds of bullets echoed around him and occasionally vibrated his shield. Jaer moved from side to side, trying to stay out of the line of fire and evasive enough to keep a target lock off of him. _I have to find the main colony._ He sent an automated distress call, searching for anyone receiving. _Keelah, ALL communications are down._

A high pitched beeping began to sound, indicating that his ship was target locked. His instincts kicked in, knowing that it would only be fractions of a second for the enemy to push the button to fire and a few more for the missile to hit him, taking out the last of his shields. At just the right moment, he jerked the controls to the side sending his ship into a barrel roll and rocket flying past him. Jaer pulled up, going completely vertical as if he were trying to punch through the atmosphere.

Both of his enemies were hot on his tail, coming closer and closer to him, their bullets whittling away at his shield. A few more seconds passed and he cut the engines. He seemed to hover for a few moments before dropping quickly back down to the planet. The two ships whizzed by him and he turn on his guns again, taking out one of the ships before dipping the nose of his ship and turning the engines back on to burn across the sky of the planet.

Jaer checked his scanner but couldn't find any trace of the other ship. "Where did they go?" he said to himself. He continued at his speed but decided to start scanning for the colony, hoping he wasn't on the wrong side of the planet. He checked again and couldn't find anything on the last fighter. Just as he was about to assume it had returned to the cruiser, his ship shook with an intense force and threw him upright from the rocket hitting his underside.

He gritted his teeth as he struggled to steady his ship. Another rocket came from above now and Jaer checked his ship's integrity, but he already knew the result: shields depleted, armor damaged; another one or two hits and he would be finished. He surged forward trying to outrun the ship close on his tail. Bullets ran along the side of his ship and he pursed his lips. His mind raced to figure out what else he could do; what other tricks he had up his sleeves.

Before he could decide, or even put anything into action, the ship moved in front of him, the rocket priming. Suddenly, it exploded before him and Jaer steered to avoid the fireball. He had just begun to wonder what had happened when a ship came alongside him; it was a turian single seated fighter. Jaer made eye contact with the turian who motioned for him to follow before easing in front of Jaer slightly. He slowed his speed and decided to follow the turian.

It wasn't too long before the turian ship began to descend and the colony came into view. It was a decently sized location, definitely not one of the shining examples of a turian colony.

When they came to the landing platform, Jaer saw many empty locations; it was obvious that they had suffered losses. Still, he took the spot next to his escort and began to power down. Opening the door he hopped down from the ship to be greeted by five turian soldiers.

"Impressive flying out there, quarian," the turian who was his escort said. He motioned to the side of Jaer's ship, "But it could have been better."

Jaer turned to look at the damage he had taken, "Yes, well, my expertise is not in flying. That would be my spouse's area."

"Then I guess you should have brought her along," he laughed. "Name is Quintus. Raej Quintus."

"Jaer'Coh vas Rayna."

Another turian spoke up, "One _quarian_? That's it? Where are the turian fleets? Or the Council fleets?"

"None of your messages went out," Jaer explained, "Baero'li was only able to get one message out and it reached us first because he knew that we would be closest and able to send help. Don't worry, we forwarded the distress call."

"And this is what the quarians could spare? One? Or did the rest of your fleet get killed?"

"Be happy that I was this close," Jaer was getting impatient with the turian. "What is your name soldier?"

"Drien Kravash."

"Leave it, Kravash," Quintus spoke up. "Head back to your post. All of you."

"You seem a little young to be in charge," Jaer turned back to Quintus as the rest of the turians walked away.

"Yeah, well that happens when the leaders before you all get killed." Quintus began to walk around Jaer's ship inspecting the damage more closely. "Could be worse. Kravash could be in charge," he grinned. "I'll have my crew start repairing your ship."

"Thank you." Jaer followed the turian then began to focus more on his ship. He ran a hand over the bullet holes. It had been a close call. If that fighter had any heavier guns, it could have cut through to the engine. "Why aren't you questioning me as much as your men?"

"I like to be a little more… open-minded than most. The galaxy is changing. One thing that you can't hold on to is time."

"That's the truth."

"So, why just you? Where is your team?"

"I work better alone. There wasn't much information for us. Going in blind would have spelled death for a lot of people. They have a much larger operation than I would have expected. Do you know the warlord?"

"His name is Chakar. He is looking for a planet to set up his base of operations. My best guess, it almost seems like he is trying to be the next upcoming Shadow Broker. And he has a good head start."

Jaer nodded. It was a little farfetched, but it wasn't the craziest thing he had heard. "Where does your defense stand?"

"It's not very good. We lost a lot of men in the first attack. Our communications were cut long before. No one would admit it, but we just barely made it out on top in that battle. I think if Chakar wanted to he could have wiped us out but I don't think he wanted to lose that many men. However, letting us live after that fight was his mistake. Now we are ready for him."

"Alright, fill me in on the rest of the situation and we'll make a plan. We'll give Chakar something to remember and it might buy us more time until help arrives," Jaer nodded to Quintus with a smirk on his face, despite the fact that the turian couldn't see it. _If we even need the extra help,_ he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_Soooo, this is embarrassing... almost a full year after the first chapter was posted and I am only just now putting up the second. Booooo busy life... I'll try to get better about this. Hope you enjoy! _

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Jaer followed Quintus up to the edge of the colony. They passed a few buildings before going into a small, already damaged, structure. Inside, there was only superficial damaged and it looked drastically better than the façade. Six consoles were running but only two turians managed them.

"We ended up changing our base of operations into this building," Quintus explained. "The last commander decided to move everything here figuring that if we were in an already damaged building, we would be less likely to get hit by an air raid."

"Do you get many air raids?"

"A few but they were quick and sporadic. I doubt there was too much they actually wanted completely destroy." He stepped to the center console and brought up a hologram of the colony. A few red marks highlighted as Quintus waved his hand over the table. "These are the only spots that have seen intense damage. Chakar seems to be focusing on taking out our forces rather than the general population. Which doesn't make sense because the pattern that we have discovered indicates he is a mass-murderer. What would keep him from wiping us out?"

"It's possible he could be looking into making the switch to slavery. Though, that seems unlikely with this being a turian colony. He could also be looking for forced recruitment. My final thought is that he is looking for hostages. Try to get payment for the return of the people."

"Slavery would fit the batarian ideology but I agree, they tend to target human colonies for that sort of thing."

"Sir," one of the turians at the console called, his subharmonics shaking with worry.

"What is it?"

"We have a ship that caught sight of an enemy vessel. They are attempting to overtake it."

"Our scouts are stretched thin. They need to wait for back up. It could be a trap."

"He's not responding, sir."

Jaer approached Quintus, "Your soldier is pursuing a single enemy vessel?"

"Yes."

"Not only could it be a trap, but it could be a diversion as well."

"A diversion?"

The quarian gestured to an empty console, "May I?"

"Go ahead," Quintus said and turned back to the console, attempting to reorganize the troops.

_Poor kid,_ Jaer thought. _Getting thrown into this position has got to be rough on him. A make or break of a career._ He scrolled through the sectors mapping the trajectory of the enemy ship from the initial sighting to where they were heading. Whatever it was doing, it didn't seem to be a fighting pattern or style. _If anything… it seems to be giving a wide berth to a few sectors._ "That's it," he muttered. He looked over his shoulder to see the turians stressing on arranging their meager fleet.

_Alright, I'll just have to find what's out there myself._ Jaer activated the list of remote mobile security cameras. To accommodate the loss of sight on the perimeter, he began to reprogram those still in the base once he had sent the other on reconnaissance. So far, nothing was showing up. It was starting to seem like a coincidence.

"Another enemy ship appeared," the second turian spoke up.

Jaer tracked the second on his console. Again, this one was avoiding certain sectors. _If they are hiding something, it would likely be in the center, giving a wide berth to the location that is to remain hidden. Let's go see what it is out here._ The camera was struggling, running low on battery with the image flickering; it wasn't meant to travel this far from the colony. _Come on little bot. You can do it. Just a little further…_ The image started to break up, he backed the bot closer to the colony, hoping the image would clear. It wasn't perfect but it was enough to see what was going on. He tilted the camera up and saw a ship take off just as another landed, _Transport ships._

A hiss came through on the camera. Before he could tilt it back down, the image shook as it was ripped from the air. More hisses and growls came through as the ground then the sky flashed into view as if it were being rolled. Soon, it stopped.

"Quintus, you'll want to see this."

"Jaer, I'm kind of…" he looked over and saw the screen, "… busy…"

Many sharp teeth filled the screen and a hissing laugh escaped them. The image roamed over the vorcha's face as he lifted it to stare into the lens with his bright red eye. "Herlo!" he laughed before throwing it to the ground and it shattered, the image ending.

"Your enemy ships are distracting you from the ground forces that are making their way to the colony. If we act now, we could head them off. But, my guess is that they will be hiding in the trees. How long until nightfall?"

"Just under two hours. They'll be waiting to strike then. SPIRITS!" he swore as he threw a datapad. "Recall the fighter reinforcements. Set up extra security along the Galen sector.

"While you get your men ready, allow me to scout out their numbers. Knowing how they are mobilizing will help to better defend."

"You aren't one of my men. I can't ask you to do that."

"Exactly. That's why I'm offering."

Quintus only nodded. "Good luck."

"To you as well." Jaer left the building before he could get called again. He could discuss his plan with the turian but he didn't really see the point. First, he would have to stock his weapons. If it was any force like he was expecting, there would probably be a good amount of resistance.

He jumped into his ship and made his way to the back. _Hmm… what will I need?_ Opening a crate on the wall he looked at the rows of black and silver blades. _Two sets of throwing knives. A few extra daggers. I'll take the suppressor in case things get a little dicey. I would love to take the Mantis but unless I reveal my position, I doubt it will come in handy._ He paused for a few moments, _Aw, why not. _He grabbed the gun and attached it to his back. After grabbing a few more items, he reached for his gauntlets. Tightening the straps, he couldn't help but think about the clean simplicity of their design; practically unchanged for so many, many years.

With all of his stashes full, he was ready. Exiting the ship, he spun a blade in his hand before tucking it into the sheath on his belt. He smoothed the fabric down with his hands, the black material hiding everything on his person. There were a few turians milling about, managing their patrols but none of them paid him much attention.

Jaer jogged across the clearing between the colony and the tree line. Cover would be his ally in trying to find their enemy and eliminating them. He occasionally checked his omni-tool to double check the location where the camera was taken down. He assumed the vorcha had been a scout, more than likely ahead from the rest of his group.

He looked at his map again; he was closing in on the marker. Slowing to a walk, he turned on his scanner but nothing was showing up. _He's around here somewhere._ Jaer continued northeast from the direction the transport ships had appeared.

The loud shredding of tree bark caused him to stop in his tracks. He crept up towards where the sound had come from and he could hear the vorcha's grumblings. Hisses and growls came from him as he swiped at the ground, trees and bushes.

"Be a scout!" he growled. "Just want to kill!"

Jaer closed the distance, pulling out one of his daggers. The vorcha turned and his eyes locked in on the skull etched into Jaer's visor. "How about just be killed?" Jaer said as he plunged the blade into its neck. The mouth moved as if it were trying to say something, curses on him most likely. He searched the body finding a tracking disruptor but not much else. _Might as well hold onto this._

It was getting later. He knew that if he didn't find some of the groups he would miss his chance and they would be on the move towards the colony. With any luck, the troops would wait until deeper into the night before they attacked. Jaer moved at a faster pace, hoping to find some part of the groups before it was too late.

He brought up his omni-tool once again as he slowed to a stop. Closing his eyes, he listened intently to everything around him. There was almost a whisper dancing through the trees. Jaer followed the sound as it grew louder and louder and he could make out the sounds of batarians, vorcha, and krogan. Before getting too close, he looked around, he had to get a better view of his surroundings. The lowest limb was too high for him to jump to but he had a trick in his pocket. Taking two knives, he gripped them tightly in his hand. Backing up, he sprinted at the tree, his boots gripped the bark enough to allow him more height before digging the first knife into the bark and pulling himself up to plunge the other into the bark. Left, right, then left, and he was high enough to reach the branch. Swinging a leg up, he pulled the knives out of the tree and stood up on the branch.

_That's a good amount of men…_ he said to himself as he looked over the cluster of troops. Forty men were in the area around him, ten to each group and he could see other clusters in the distance. He couldn't tell how many there were as they faded into the trees.

"The colony doesn't stand a chance…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Forty fighters. Forty, almost right below him. Far too many for him to take out in a single fight and as soon as one fired a shot it would alert the rest of the teams and he would be swarmed. Besides, he wasn't supposed to draw attention to himself. Jaer sat on the branch, staring out at his impossible task. How was he going to save this colony?

_I need to get onto their ship. If I'm lucky, the leader will still be there and I can take him out. _Marking his location on his omni-tool he prepped a message to send to the colony's command unit. A voice from below took him out of his plotting.

"Go cover the next section. The last transport is coming down," a batarian growled.

Jaer watched the group of five break from the group and move farther to the east. Looking around, he planned a path through the treetops, jumping from branch to branch, thankful it was a dense forest. He jumped to the next one but just as he landed it snapped, rotting from the inside out. Starting to fall, his fingers caught the next branch and he hit his cloaking. Looking down, he watched the branch fall and land directly behind the group. He held his breath.

"What the hell?" a human exclaimed. "Where the fuck did that come from?"

The group looked up, scanning for foes.

"It's probably just wildlife. No one knows we are out here. Get a move on, they are almost here."

Jaer pulled himself back up to a branch and turned off his cloaking, conserving the energy. He was a little more careful in his steps and staying farther from the group. When they stopped again, he continued to the branches above them. He looked around at the location. There was a small clearing, barely enough for transport ship to land, even for an exceptionally skilled pilot. He weighed his options, debating which would be the best course of action.

They had started to mill about, dropping their guard as they waited. The quarian lowered himself down a branch, then another, and another. He tested the next branch, holding on to the one above him as the his weight caused the branch to bow. The low hum of a ship drew the attention of his targets.

Jaer released the branches and triggered his blades attached to his wrists during his fall. His feet kicked into the backs of the mercenaries, sending them to the ground and in the same motion plunged his blades into their necks, severing their spinal cords. The thuds and grunts alerted the others and almost as quickly as the men went down, Jaer sent his right blade into the soldiers throat on his left, turned his back to the krogan as he put his left blade into the other man. He heard the click of the krogan's gun and withdrew his weapons from the necks of his foes and did a flip, cutting the neck and face of the krogan before turning to him. He shoved his left blade up through the jaw and into the head of the krogan as Jaer repeatedly plunged his other weapon into his enemy's chest and neck.

When the light faded from the krogan's eyes, he withdrew his knives back into their sheaths and kicked the body back away from him. There were still gurgles, protests, or prayers, coming from the bloody masses surrounding him. He walked away, ignoring the bodies behind him and hid behind a large tree standing on the edge of clearing.

The ship was beginning to lower through the trees. Jaer opened his omni-tool and began programming two grenades. Pulling the first off his belt, he peeked around the corner to watch the descent of the vehicle. As it lowered, he applied an adhesive and threw it just as the ship made contact with the ground and it stuck to the door. He waited with his finger on his omni-tool, ready to trigger the grenade. He heard the hiss of the sealed door open and triggered the grenade, shorting out the door.

"What's going on? Shove the door open!" a voice shouted from inside.

Jaer sprinted towards the transport as he heard the bangs on the door. It popped open a little more as he closed the distance. Grabbing the side of the ship, he hoisted himself on top and pulled the next grenade from his belt and tossed it into the door. He heard someone question the object but it was too late; he triggered the grenade with his omni-tool.

The metal rumbled under his feet. After giving it a few seconds, he slipped his feet into the crack of the door and shimmied into the opening, landing on several bodies. He stepped on and over the dead to make his way to the cockpit, firing up the engines to take him back to the ship. Over-riding the door, he triggered the emergency shut so he could take off. On his way off the ground, he clipped a few tree tops before setting it on autopilot back.

He opened his omni-tool and sent the little information he had gathered back to the colony so they might be able to prepare; but his hope was that there wouldn't be a need, because they didn't stand a chance. Keeping his attention on his path, he gave his knives a quick clean and began to move some of the bodies away from the door.

The ship began to come into sight and Jaer took over the controls, bringing it in for docking. He was able to guide himself into the ship but before he could direct himself in a more secluded area, his ship became unresponsive. _Bosh'tet… automatic controls. _He scanned the area but it was very empty of staff and ships, only a few fighters and transports sat powered down, awaiting repairs. _There's one thing going for me at… least… nevermind._ Three crew members were approaching the ship. Had someone heard when him take the ship from the planet? Jaer got his blades ready, he didn't need the entire ship on the hunt for him.

He felt the slight rock of the ship landing and the shake of the door as it tried to open. "Open up!" a krogan boomed from the other side of the door. Three heavy hits pounded against the door, echoing through the cabin.

Jaer turned off the filter on this suit, "It should be opening. I haven't done anything from in here to lock it. Let me try something else." He stashed his knives back on his person except for two long blades that he held in a reverse grip.

There was a grumble and another few hits on the door.

"You know, there was a slight trouble just after I dropped off the team. I think it was just a short," Jaer moved to stand just on the other side. The creaking from the door told him how much was left before they could get to him. He looked at one of his knives and put it back and instead brought out a different blade, hooked and serrated with a looped handle, and flipped it in his hand until he was happy with the placement.

The door was almost halfway down when he made his move; he pivoted in place and pushed off at a near sprint up the door. His hand tightened on the handle of the hook blade as he pushed off the top of the door, did a half flip over the krogan, digging the hook into the giant's jaw. There was a gurgle of blood as it sliced into the jaw and grabbed hold. With his other hand, he swung his blade into the batarian's throat that stood to the right of the krogan. Jaer's momentum, hook, and the sheer size of the krogan kept him turning around to the other side of the krogan where the third mercenary was. His blade cut across the face of the third one but not killing him. Jaer let go of the hooked blade as the krogan fell back and the quarian landed on his feet, triggered the blade at his wrist and thrusted it into the human's heart.

Jaer stared through his visor into the human's eyes as he withdrew his blade from the man's heart. He looked down at the bodies, it was a disappointment to have to kill them outside of the transport ship; it would have allowed him to hide the carnage. He thought about dragging the batarian and human but the krogan was out of the question and there was no way to clean up the blood. He knocked the hooked blade out of the krogan's jaw, cleaned and sheathed his blades and began to retreat from the area, once again, hoping no one would be through the area for a while, at least until he had reached his goal.

He moved through the hallways, checking his scanner periodically to make sure the way was clear. Jaer could only guess as to where the leader would probably be, given that his map didn't have labeled rooms. _Wouldn't that be something?_ He thought to himself. _A little map with an arrow or a highlighted area saying 'go here' or 'kill this guy'. That would be amazing._

If his guess was accurate, Jaer was approximately halfway between where he had arrived and where he wanted to be. His scanner made a small ticking noise, indicating someone was approaching him. There were no rooms around him so he triggered his cloaking the two had passed, unaware of his presence. There hadn't been as many places to hide as he had hoped, leading him to use his cloaking more and more, putting a strain on the system.

He had just started walking down the hall when lights flashed and alarms blared above him, accompanied by a voice, "Intruder Alert! Sweep the ship!"

"Well that's unfortunate…" Jaer said aloud. He began to run but kept an eye on his scanner so he wouldn't miss something. Dots filled the screen and he came skidding to a halt. There were seven coming towards him, he could probably dispatch them given enough surprise but the chances were slim that he could kill them all before one of them called for backup.

Debating his next move, he backtracked, heading away from the group and towards his escape. Jaer reached his goal, a vent that was just low enough for him to break into. Sliding a blade between the metals, he popped it open and it swung down on its hinges. He backed up to get a running start and hoisted himself into the cramped space and pulled the grate closed behind him. He sat still as the troops moved past his position.

When Jaer could no longer hear the footsteps, he made his way through the tunnels. He still needed to go up at least another two levels but when he reached a juncture he saw the near impossible task before him; there was nothing to hold onto and the walls were quite smooth. Deciding to give it a go, Jaer shimmied around the corner and pinned his forearms against the walls and pushed himself further into the shaft with his feet. When his feet reached the edge, he took a deep breath before putting all of his effort into his arms until his feet made contact with either wall. Quietly and quickly, he scaled the vent, keeping his eyes on the next ledge.

It seemed to take forever but he managed to get a hand on the next level and pushed himself into it with his legs. He rolled on his back taking deep breaths trying to recover from the exertion. There were a few rooms on this level that he needed to check before heading to the top, at least it would give him a chance to rest his arms for another climb.

Seeing that the way was clear, he pushed the vent open and tumbled out, landing silently. He jogged to the end of the hallway, turned right, turned left and came to his first door. Opening the panel, he started to work on bypassing the code. It didn't take him long, only leading him to believe that he wasn't at the right location, but he had to check it out. Taking out a blade, he triggered his cloaking as the door opened. He took three steps into the room and was about to leave when there was a voice coming from the back. He crept farther in then heard another rustle but this time from his right side, then the left.

Jaer stopped and listened intently but there were no other sounds. He crept back towards the door but before he could reach it, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head.

Everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

_I honestly haven't had much time to work on this so I hope there are not too many mistakes. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Jaer's head was ringing but at least it meant he was alive. His arms were pulled out to either side, each one draped over a body, the ones carrying him he supposed. His head swayed with the movement of being carried. They moved down a hallway then another but every one looked more similar than the last; there was no telling where they were headed. He could take these two out, but if he was lucky, he was being taken to the leader. So, he went along with his two human captors, his head hanging and his feet dragging the ground. The least they could have done was get two turians or a krogan, something big enough to completely lift him off the ground.

"I never realized quarians were so heavy," one of the humans complained.

"Just shut up and let's take him to the boss."

"I'm just saying, they seem so small and stringy. They've got to be so dense."

The other one sighed, "It's their bones. Dextros have stronger bones than us, kind of like how turians bones are."

"I thought turians were stronger because of their plates."

"It's their plates and bones that make them hard to hurt."

"Well, what about krogans? They're not dextros."

"Jesus Christ dude… you've seen their size. They're just naturally bigger and stronger. It's just the way they evolved. Don't think about them in Earth terms."

_On second thought, maybe I should just kill them…_ Jaer thought. What was wrong with these two? As tempting as it was, he did decide to stay limp, thanking his training for helping him keep up the charade.

They entered an elevator and the humans readjusted Jaer's weight between them. Jaer could feel the elevator moving up rather than down so it seemed that he was being taken to the leader. This would make his job a little easier.

The doors opened and they began to drag him forward. Their sounds echoed in the room, indicating that it was a large open area. There were muffled voices floating around them that slowly faded away as they drew closer. Focusing on the sound of his movement, Jaer assumed they had passed the across the center of the room, possibly being brought closer to the leader. Suddenly, he was roughly thrown to the floor and he struggled to stay limp.

"This is it? There are no others?" a rumbling krogan voice spoke.

"He's the only one we found." One of the humans moved and set something down, "These are the only weapons we found on him."

"Well search the ship again!" the krogan boomed. "If any of those colonist scum made it on board too I want them slaughtered!"

"Yes, sir!" the humans stuttered out and began to make their retreat.

"Wake him up," the krogan ordered.

Feet scraped the ground closer to him; vorcha, if he would guess. His assumption was confirmed when he heard the growling and clicking of its voice. A sharp pain shot through his side as the vorcha kicked him. Committing to the act, he stayed down; it was a risk but getting up immediately would have been a little suspicious. The vorcha reached down, grabbing Jaer's arm and flipped him onto his back, hissing directly at his face mask. Slowly, Jaer began to move his arms and legs, groaning as he moved more and more. The vorcha grabbed him and pulled him up on his knees.

Jaer finally got a look at his surroundings. The room was big, bigger than most would allow on a ship considering it looked like a waste of space, a way to just show power. It was large enough to require supports for the ceiling that were wide enough to be considered pillars. A large krogan sat before him, flanked by humans, batarians, vorcha, krogan, volus, turians, and asaris, two of each species; the second vorcha being the one standing behind him. Jaer saw the pile of weapons that had been taken from him in a haphazard pile a several feet in front of him; definitely not close enough for him to get to before being shot. He smirked behind his enviro-suit mask; he would still have a few tricks up his sleeves.

_Fourteen plus him… this might be harder than I thought._

"Who are you? How did you make it on my ship?" the krogan demanded.

"I'm assuming you are Chakar."

"The Great Warlord Chakar, quarian scum!" a batarian spat.

"Ah, I see…" Jaer said. "I was just passing through. Got turned around." It was so quiet the silence could have echoed, "Oh, so that's the vibe we're going for, got it."

"Are you working for those turians on the planet?" Chakar growled.

"Technically, no." Jaer could tell that he was aggravating Chakar. Usually, it wasn't a good idea to antagonize a krogan, but in this case, getting him close was more than likely his best option.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."

"If I said I have a wife and child, would that change your mind?"

Chakar stood up, slamming his foot down and roaring his anger. He marched forward, each footfall stomping. Jaer went to move back but was pushed back down by the vorcha behind him. He put his hands out just as the krogan's massive hand clamped around his neck, lifting him off the ground to bring him slightly above eye-level as if Chakar was eyeing his next meal.

"You come on to my ship, alone, thinking that you could, what? Take me down?" He rumbled a laugh and his minions chuckled along as well. "If those turians hired you, they must be really desperate. Or really dumb. Sending in a quarian? A QUARIAN?" He bellowed another laugh, this one echoed around the chamber. "And a quarian with blades? Shouldn't you be worried about puncturing your suit?" His eyes roamed up and down Jaer. "I've heard that if quarians are exposed to natural air they can suffocate immediately from bacteria. Others go into shock. And others die a slow, painful death. I wonder, which will it be for you?"

Chakar's other hand came up, grabbing Jaer's faceplate. Jaer threw his hands up, hitting and clawing at the offending krogan hand, trying to protect his mask. The hand squeezed, cracking the visor and crumpling the air filter. Jaer shouted as Chakar crushed the visor the rest of the way and ripped it away from the quarian's face. Closing his eyes, Jaer took deep breaths, coughing as he did, gasping and groaning out his despair. Jaer draped his arms over the krogan wrist.

The krogan laughed again, "He still lives! Perhaps you'll live long enough to watch me torch the colony to the ground!"

Through a short cough, Jaer moved his head to look down at the krogan. "Perhaps," he slowly croaked out as he moved one hand to his forearm, "you'll live long enough to watch me burn your ship." Jaer triggered the backup switch under his suit in his forearm and blades sprung through his suit, slicing through both arms. He brought his arms down on both sides of the krogan wrist in a high sweeping motion. The beast roared as blood poured from him and he immediately dropped Jaer who gracefully landed on his feet.

"Kill him! KILL HIM!" Chakar roared.

His crew brought up their weapons but Jaer was already dashing forward, staying close enough to Chakar so his own men couldn't fire unless they risked hitting their wounded leader. Jaer sliced another gash into Chakar, forcing him back further. Jaer dodge the arm that was swung at him and dashed around the massive body, scooping up some of his weapons before jumping behind the closest minion on the end, a human. Grabbing the human by the neck, Jaer used him as a shield as the others opened fire, killing their teammate in an attempt to get Jaer. He threw the body down as he reached a pillar, ducking behind it so he could reattach some of his weapons.

"Surround him! Shoot him!"

Jaer had managed to reattach his throwing knives and bombs by the time the first showed up in his line of sight. He casually threw one of the knives and it landed in the vorcha's throat, putting him down. He recalled one of his arm blades so he could attach more of his knives and not be at risk of injuring himself. Eyeing the SMG closest to him, he judged the distance, dashing out and back, he managed to only take a few hits to the shield before finding himself back in the safety of cover.

Looking around his cover, he saw that he would soon be out of time. Some of the enemy squad started to close in on his right flank. He primed a grenade and raised the gun, firing on one end of their line then the other, grouping them closer. Jaer threw the grenade, shooting at those who tried to escape the blast radius, taking out all six of them. Turning his attention to the other side, he held the SMG in his off hand and pulled a knife out with his other. Tightening his grip on both, he took a deep breath, wishing he had his helmet; he may be able to survive outside of his suit but he still didn't like getting blood directly on his face.

Bullets ricocheted off his pillar, signaling the direction he needed to go. He stuck his arm out, spraying shots so his foes would take cover, giving him a chance to leave. Jaer ran for the next closest enemy, two pillars over. Just as the human looked out, Jaer slashed the knife across the man's chest, then dug the knife into his back as Jaer ran past, the blade hitting between two ribs into his lung and heart. Jerking the knife out, he ran towards the next one, a krogan. An asari leaned a little too far out and met with the gunfire from the SMG. Seeing a krogan body begin to come around the pillar, Jaer jumped, slamming his entire body weight into the krogan but only managing to make the beast stagger back. It was enough to work with, as Jaer drove his blade into an artery and put the SMG flush to the krogan's neck, firing the rest of his clip.

Dropping the SMG, Jaer was about to pick up the krogan's weapon but saw movement out of the corner of his eye; Chakar was trying to escape. From the looks of it, there wouldn't be much time before he escaped, assuming there was a small ship docked nearby. There almost always was too, leaders would often have a small ship, ready to keep them out of harm's way while they hovered nearby, waiting for their forces to overwhelm the threat.

He stood behind his cover, bringing up his omni-tool to program his last three grenades. Taking one, he threw it between the control deck and the last few enemies. They all took cover, expecting a large explosion; instead it snapped apart with a small pop and dense black smoke sprayed out making an eight foot wall. He fired a few shots with the krogan's weapon and tossed it aside while activating his cloak. While his enemies fired at his last location, he made his way towards the ship's controls, detouring to grab the rest of his gear. Dropping the stray equipment at his feet he began to work on the console.

The security was surprisingly lacking, the few firewalls were hardly enough to stop the most basic of engineers. Being in the leader's den apparently had its benefits to saboteurs. He typed away on the panel, counting down in his head to when his smoke shield would dissipate. Alarms began to blare, engines were stopping and others were going into critical failure. He set an override code, requiring the cancellation to be done only on that console, then took a grenade, and stuck it to the side of the console. He picked up his gear, activated his cloaking and ran for the exit Chakar had taken. He turned at the last second to glance back and saw the group closing in on the console. One had started to type, trying to fix the problem with the engines. His hands had barely gotten a line of code in before the grenade exploded, fire consuming some, shrapnel finding the others and the shockwave sending them all backwards and to the ground.

Jaer went back to his search for Chakar. He had to find him before he escaped.


End file.
